Arima (Haruki Arima Duet, #2)

by Laine Watson

  What game is it?”

  “It’s a new one. We play it in the bathroom sometimes at school, mostly at lunch.”

  “In the bathroom?”

  “Yeah, we get in trouble sometimes—don’t tell Dad. It’s not bad, the teachers just don’t like it.”

  I snicker. “What is it?”

  “It’s called Blind Man’s Bluff.”

  “Never heard of it.”

  “It’s basically a mix between hide and seek and Marco Polo, just in a different way. Like, it’s not in the water; it’s just dark. You turn out all the lights and play hide and seek. It’s so fun and scary, especially when you can’t see anyone, but you reach out and touch somebody.”

  “Oh, wow! That does sound fun. I’m sure your dad would love to play, too.”

  Boys.

  “Tonight is going to be so fun!” Max enthuses.

  My phone rings and I answer it; my earphones are in.

  “Hey.”

  “We’re at the house; where are you?” Darby asks.

  “On the way.”

  “Okay, everything shipped around noon, so it should be there before we get there or a little after. Thank goodness everything is back to normal with you two. I don’t know what I would have done if all my hard work had gone to waste.”

  “Haru isn’t there? It’s after five.”

  “No, no one is here. It’s just me and Hayden waiting in the car.”

  “Okay. I should be there in less than ten minutes, but I’ll call Haru to see where he is.”

  “Okay, see you soon.”

  “Okay. Bye,” I say and press the call button. “Call Haru.”

  “Hey, princess,” he answers after one ring.

  “Hey, where are you?”

  “I’m like five minutes away. Is Max with you?”

  “Yeah, we’re on our way home too. Darby and Hayden are already at the house.”

  “Can Max hear me?”

  “No, I’ve got my earphones in.”

  “I know we haven’t talked about it, but I booked us a flight the day after the wedding to Tokyo, so we can have a proper honeymoon.”

  “Nothing flashy, Haru.”

  “Just this one time, okay? This is my gift to you. Can I show you how much I love you in my own way... please?”

  When he puts it that way, it makes me sound ungrateful. “I would love that.”

  “You would?”

  “Yeah, I know I made you get rid of the car, and we don’t really do a lot of expensive things.”

  “Yeah, and you won’t let me do anything for you. You’ve been doing everything on your own. Even when I put money in your account, you don’t spend it. I admire that, but we’re about to get married. What’s mine is yours. It always has been. Now, I hope you understand.”

  “As long as I can give you as much as you give me, I’ll always be happy.”

  “The only thing you fully let me give you are orgasms. I give those to you, on my own terms, how I want to. You have no idea, no matter how much I try, you’ll always give me more than I can ever give you.”

  My eyes tighten, and so does my chest.

  “Haru.” I can’t say much more than that. He’s sent these beautiful flashes of lightning down my spine without even touching me.

  “So, I got some stuff for the honeymoon. It’s going to be wild.” He laughs, impishly.

  “What?” I giggle girlishly, the sentimental moment gone.

  “I got a special silky blindfold and a sturdy, pliable tie—no more belts.” He sighs. “I can’t wait to use them. We could even use them tonight—try them out first.”

  I gulp involuntarily. “Uh, can we talk about this another time, Haru? We have people at the house. Also, this is Max’s first night with all of us together since I left.”

  Haru sighs heavily. “Princess, c’mon. It’ll be crazy when we get to Japan. You think Max is going to let us out of his sight?”

  “We’ll find time.”

  “Let’s skip the bachelor and bachelorette parties and have our own party. I can’t wait until after the wedding.”

  “Goodbye, Haru. I will see you at home.” I huff, flustered.

  I end the call. I giggle to myself.

  “Was that Dad?”

  “Oh, yeah, it was. He’s on his way home, too.”

  I glance in the rearview mirror. Max sits back with a sweet smile.

  His big brown eyes are full of happiness as he says, “We’ll have fun tonight. Lots of it.”

  Chapter Thirty-One: Blind Man’s Bluff

  The night goes by happily. We eat pizza in the den, and Max makes his incredible sundaes. We laugh, talk, and smile. We’re back to normal. Haru sits behind me on the floor as we all crowd around the coffee table, watching a movie. Max is antsy, moving around, asking questions. He sits down and has a spoonful of his sundae before hopping right back up.

  “Okay, can we play blind man’s bluff now?!”

  “Blind man’s bluff? What?” Darby chuckles.

  “It’s like hide and seek in the dark. You can’t see anything, so if you’re it, you go around looking for people in the dark. You call out someone’s name, and they have to answer. You just keep doing that until you touch someone. Whoever you touch, is it,” Max explains, with a shrug.

  “Yeah, I’m down to play.” Haru turns to me.

  I give a kind smile. “Me too.”

  “Sounds interesting. I’m in.” Hayden nods.

  “Why not?” Darby shrugs with a cute laugh.

  Max giggles. “Yes! This is going to be awesome.”

  We clean up the table, move all the boxes to the kitchen island, and place the bowls in the sink. We put the discarded things in the trash and surround the coffee table.

  “Be careful,” Haru urges.

  “I want to be it first!” Max announces.

  “Okay,” Haru agrees.

  We all nod.

  “So, you remember the rules? When I call your name, you h-a-v-e to say something, like ‘yeah’ or ‘what’?”

  “We’ve got it,” Hayden says.

  “I’ll count to twenty, and then I’m coming for you!” Max laughs darkly.

  Haru smirks at me, and the lights go out. It’s dark as we scramble around the downstairs while Max counts.

  “You can’t go upstairs, either!” he says and resumes counting.

  Where am I going to hide? I ask myself. Haru should be hiding with me. He totally left me! What an ass. I laugh as I walk through the dark hall, looking for a hiding place. I see the closet. Max would probably go right past it. I open the door and sneakily back in quietly. As the door closes, warmth grows behind me. Hands squeeze my butt cheeks. After which, I hear a mischievous quiet giggle.

  “Haru!” I whisper-scream at him.

  “Knew it was you. You smell good.”

  “This is my hiding place. Get out,” I whisper.

  “Uh, yeah. I was here first. So...” He fondles me.

  “Would you not while we’re playing a game? Seriously?”

  “It’s dark. Why not?”

  “Stop, Haru.”

  “Fine.” He moves around, his hands gently patting up my arm to my face. “Will you at least kiss me?”

  I can’t refuse him, mostly because he’s already put his lips on mine. I fall effortlessly against the wall. The taste of Haru’s lips, tongue, and mouth envelopes me. He presses his hands against the wall.

  We’re supposed to be playing a game with Max. My thoughts fade as Haru deepens the kiss.

  “I missed you so much. Things are going so fast; I haven’t even been able to apologize how I want to,” he mutters through his kisses.

  “We spent the last eight days having sex. What are you talking about?”

  “But I want you now,” he confesses with a deep exhale.

  Who knows what kind of craziness awaits us this next week. Is that me talking or me agreeing with Haru because I want him? I don’t care.

  “Okay, tonight.”

&n
bsp; “Can we try your new toys?”

  “No, Haru. Let’s just have quiet re-make-up sex and call it a night. Max is here; Hayden and Darby are going to be in the house. No.”

  He flicks his tongue. “Fine.” He kisses me one more time.

  “Are you pouting? A grown-ass man pouting?” I giggle.

  He says nothing. His warmth fades away from my face as his hands travel down my body, stopping at my hips.

  “Hey, Kathy, don’t you want some naughty time tonight? I’ve got some surprises for you.”

  “They’re my surprises for our honeymoon, you ass!”

  “You can’t have them anymore because you’re no fun. Kathy understands me.”

  I flare my nose and roll my eyes playfully. “Can we please go back to Mecca and Takumi?” I change the subject, before I get so pissed at him I don’t want to have sex anymore.

  “Why?”

  “If you want to keep talking to lady parts, then you’ll do what I say.”

  “Ugh, you’re so demanding now,” Haru says, unbuttoning my pants.

  “Haru, no!” I whisper, trying to button them back, but Haru moves my hands. I squirm on the wall. “Move, Haru.”

  He doesn’t; we fight for a bit, and he pulls the front of my underwear down and lays his cheek flat against my crotch with a calming sigh.

  He’s so weird. Is that all he wanted?

  “Get up and stop, Haru.”

  He keeps his head right there.

  “Mom? Dad?” Max calls.

  How long have we been in here? “Tonight, you can do whatever. Just get up.”

  “You give in so easily to my sincerity.” He sneers.

  I hate him sometimes.

  I swing my arm to smack him, and my open hand strikes his face.

  He laughs as he grabs my wrist. I get up in a huff, open the door, and come out of the closet. Haru gets up with a playfully mocking face, following behind me.

  “You guys were hiding in the closet this whole time?” Hayden asks.

  “Yeah, pretty good hiding place.”

  Darby smirks. “I’ll say. You missed the whole game.”

  “Isn’t the point not to get caught? I think we played well?” Haru says smartly.

  Max laughs. “Yeah, we were running around in the dark mostly. It was scary sometimes, but I held in my scream.”

  “Who’s turn is it?” Haru asks.

  “Hayden!” Max says.

  “Get ready!” Hayden says and quickly turns out the light.

  This time the game goes nothing like we talked about. We are running around the house in the dark scaring each other. Haru pulls me into dark corners and kisses me.

  No one is “it.” We’re all just having silly fun in the dark. Haru is going from room to room making bird calls then running to another room. It’s hard not to laugh or run into each other and when we do, we run away from the person and then they start to chase us and that happens over and over as we run all over the house. I think someone knocked over some pizza boxes too, but I’m not sure. It’s mad fun. That is until the lights come on.

  Everyone halts for a moment, and then the room fills with roaring laughter and tired breaths.

  “That was so fun!” Max says.

  Haru yawns. “It was, but we got an early start in the morning. Time to shower and get to bed, buddy.”

  “Okay! See everyone in the morning! We’re going to Japan!” Max says excitedly.

  He’s kind of hyped up for midnight. I don’t think we’re going to be having sex tonight.

  “Love you, Mom and Dad.”

  “We love you too, buddy.”

  Max sprints up the stairs.

  Hayden follows Darby towards the door.

  “Not spending the night anymore?” Haru’s eyebrows wiggle. “You guys want to have sex too?” Haru blurts out.

  “Haru!” I yell at him.

  “You know it,” Hayden says, dabbing Haru’s hand.

  “Respect,” Haru says.

  I roll my eyes.

  “Let’s go. Guys are so immature,” Darby complains as she and Hayden leave the house. “See you in the morning.”

  “See you guys in the morning,” I snicker, even though I’m annoyed with Haru.

  He smirks at me.

  “Now,” Haru says, ambling over to me and kissing me. “I think—”

  Max runs down the stairs, stopping right before the last step.

  “Can I sleep with you guys?” he asks happily.

  Neither of us says a word. I stare right at Haru, keeping in my smile. If I let it out, it’ll be a mocking one. He has to answer, not me. Haru’s shoulders fall.

  “Yeah, buddy,” Haru says with a low, disappointed voice as he sighs heavily.

  “Awesome!”

  Chapter Thirty-Two: Why?

  After a good night’s sleep, I wake up refreshed, glancing over at Max and Haru who are fast asleep.

  I should make breakfast.

  I head to the kitchen and text Darby to come over and eat with us. Max and Haru stumble out of bed a half hour later. During breakfast, Haru and Hayden talk about work, Hayden glances over at Max, who is finishing his orange juice.

  “Hey, Max. Are you excited about the long plane ride?” Hayden asks.

  “I’ve been on a plane before.”

  “Have you ever been on a plane for fourteen hours?”

  “Fourteen hours? That’s almost a whole day. Cool!” Max places his glass on the table.

  “It’s a lot of sitting,” Haru says.

  “Can we play games?” Max asks.

  I stare at them as they talk and hype Max up. Max’ll be asleep, mostly.

  “Is grandma going on the plane with us?” Max asks with hope.

  “Of course. Why would she not?” Haru says.

  Max lowers his head as the atmosphere changes. “Because we haven’t seen her in a long time.”

  Oh no, he’s talking about my mom.

  “Ms. Vaughn.” He pauses and purses his lips. “She’s my grandma, right? Is she going to Japan, too with us?” Max immobilizes me. I glance at Haru anxiously, though his expression is not far from my apprehension.

  Darby steps back, her eyes veering from me to Haru and back.

  “Hayden,” she calls, “let’s go transfer our things from the car to the truck.”

  “Yeah, good idea,” Hayden agrees, and he and Darby leave the house.

  Haru’s eyes are on me. I’m the one who has to explain everything to Max. He deserves to know.

  Please, let me say it the right way. This’ll be my first hard conversation with Max. I hope it doesn’t destroy our relationship.

  “Hey, Maxie.” I smile, walking closer to him with my hands folded on my lap.

  “Yeah, Mom?” He gazes up at me with kind eyes.

  “Let’s go sit down in the living room and have a chat.”

  “Is Dad coming, too?”

  “Yes,” I convey to Haru.

  We all leave the kitchen, heading into the living room. Haru sits in the chair, Max and I sit on the sofa. Affectionately, I smile at Max.

  I don’t know how to start. Give me the words.

  I sigh anxiously, twiddling with my fingers on my lap.

  “Is something wrong?” Max asks me.

  “Max, do you remember your other grandmother?”

  “Grandma Brenda?”

  “Oh, no. I mean, Mrs. Maiko. The grandmother you had before you moved with Haru.”

  “Oh.” He says and stares down at his lap. He doesn’t answer.

  I take a breath. “Do you remember your other mom?

  “I do, but I don’t have to. I can forget her if it makes you sad.”

  “No, I want you to remember her. She’s your mother. She’s special and a part of our family.”

  I feel Haru’s eyes on me, but I don’t look at him.

  “Will you still be my mom, too?” He stares up into my eyes.

  “Yes. Always.” I tell him with every fiber of my being, my chest t
ight and my heart pained.

  “I remember her, but not a lot.” Max lowers his head with a tranquil smile.

  “That’s fine, buddy. We’re making new memories; me, you, and Summer while your other mommy is playing with the angels,” Haru assures him.

  That must be what he told him. That’s so sweet.

  “Yeah, Dad. You’re my best friend, even though you kind of stole my girlfriend.” He glances up at Haru with a playful smile.

  “It’s because I wanted to be your best friend and your mommy.” I smile.

  “Oh, you’re my best friend, you and Dad.”

  I smile and take a moment before I speak, “Max, do you remember your grandmother, Miako?” I ask again.

  Max’s eye light up sadly. “I remember her, I think. She always made me cookies. I don’t remember her a lot either. Is she playing with the angels too—and Dad, I know what that means, but can we say it like that? The other way is sad.”

  “Yeah, we can. And no, your grandmother is still with us.”

  “Is she coming to the wedding? Do you know her Su—I mean, Mom! I mean, Mom! I’m sorry.” Tears pool in Max’s eyes and a look of panic spreads across his face as he shifts uncomfortably on the sofa.

  “Max, it’s fine,” I say.

  He lunges his head in my lap.

  “Max...” I whisper, my heart trembling a bit. “It’s okay. Summer is my name, and even if you call me Summer sometimes, that doesn’t mean I’m not your mom.”

  “I don’t want to call you Summer, I want to call you mom. I don’t know why it comes out sometimes,” Max says with a few tears falling down his face as he sits up.

  “Don’t worry. We’re all new to this. We’re a brand-new family learning how to love one another. It takes time. My mother and Miako found each other, and my mother helped her to find us.”

  “That was nice of her. She’s a good grandma. She wants us all to be a family. Is that why she’s been gone so long? She was out finding my other grandma?”

  “Um...” I dart my eyes at Haru, tensing up.

  “So we all get to go to Japan and go to the wedding?” Max asks an even harder question.

  Max, I wish that was what she wanted. That’s what I want. “Miako will be in Japan, and you can see her again.”